Wonderland, Zoje Stage
Wonderland, Zoje Stage
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

Wonderland
A Novel

Author: Zoje Stage

Narrator: Xe Sands

Unabridged: 10 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/14/2020


Synopsis

Shirley Jackson meets The Shining in this richly atmospheric and thrillingly tense novel from the acclaimed author of the "deliciously creepy" Baby Teeth (New York Post).

One mother's love may be all that stands between her family, an enigmatic presence—and madness.

After years of city life, Orla and Shaw Bennett are ready for the quiet of New York's Adirondack mountains—or at least, they think they are. Settling into the perfect farmhouse with their two children, they are both charmed and unsettled by the expanse of their land, the privacy of their individual bedrooms, and the isolation of life a mile from any neighbor.

But none of the Bennetts could expect what lies waiting in the woods, where secrets run dark and deep. When something begins to call to the family—from under the earth, beneath the trees, and within their minds—Orla realizes she might be the only one who can save them . . . if she can find out what this force wants before it's too late.

With an ending inescapable and deeply satisfying, Wonderland brilliantly blends horror and suspense to probe the boundaries of family, loyalty, love, and the natural world.

About Zoje Stage

Zoje Stage lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Baby Teeth is her first novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kat on September 10, 2020

the scariest thing about this book was that they thought it was accurate to market it as "if shirley jackson wrote the shining"......more

Goodreads review by Nilufer on November 28, 2021

Hooray! Another semi-unpopular review is on its way! When I read the definition of the book: if Shirley Jackson wrote Shining, it might look like this: I chant: “Yes! Yes! Yes!”and after getting rejections from NG, I still kept my composure ( I didn’t throw anything or jumped on coffee table and cri......more

Goodreads review by Gabby on October 28, 2020

This book had the audacity to compare itself to the masterpiece that is The Shining. Here’s the vlog where I read this one: [URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by Bridgett on July 27, 2020

Well, that was a huge struggle. Okay, friends, I'm just going to go there...no beating around the bush. This story was dull in every imaginable way. I actually contemplated not finishing it--something I rarely do, but holy crap, the repetition. I would read five percent on my Kindle...then give......more

Goodreads review by Jasmine on March 29, 2020

I always plow into a story without knowing anything about it but because I have read this author's debut, I have a certain expectation and this story is different. Definitely interesting about small space living versus big space living. Orla's family used to live in NY in their cramped apartment whe......more


Quotes

“If art imitates life, horror fiction is a great mimic, predicting and exploring the frightening and surreal realities of the contemporary world. Exhibit A: Zoje Stage’s mind-bending, trippy second novel, Wonderland.  . . . The question of responsibility for the nightmare lingers as does the line between reality and imagination." —Danielle Trussoni, New York Times Book Review

"A beautifully choreographed and astonishing second novel from the author of the much-celebrated Baby Teeth . . . Eloquent and unflinching."—Booklist (starred review)

"Oh, fright fans rejoice. That sure hand you're looking for? That relentless climb, that crescendo of cold sweat? It's all here. Deep in the woods, under a lot of snow, steeped in mad, unfamiliar nature. Zoje Stage is in total control of your nightmare. For those who live to be scared, Wonderland is the book you'll be glad you cracked open at home, alone, at night."—Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie

“Sublimely suspenseful . . . Stage is a literary horror writer on the rise. Her refined prose and knack for emphasizing small but disquieting details make Wonderland a standout summer suspense selection. Reader be warned: The woods will never look the same once you read Stage’s latest.”—BookPage

"A novel that's sure to leave you sleeping with the lights on."—PopSugar

"The tension builds steadily throughout . . . Reminiscent of the severe disorientation and trauma in Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves and the nature-seeking revenge theme of Stephen Graham Jones's The Only Good Indians."—Library Journal (starred review)

“Stage knows how to set a scene, ramp up the suspense and make you feel so trapped in it that the horror becomes palpable [and] undeniably creepy… This is a book about wish fulfillment, fear and faith.”—BookReporter

"Wonderland shows the terror lurking below the surface of domestic bliss, when we realize our familiar and cozy world may not be as it seems. Zoje Stage is one of the few writers who can make the supernatural feel totally, dangerously real."—Alma Katsu, author of The Deep and The Hunger

"Zoje Stage has a knack for unsettling atmospherics . . . Wonderland is a perfect, chilling parable for summer."—CrimeReads

“This was creepy, enthralling, and utterly engaging. I read it in half a day. Baby Teeth left me unsettled, and this one did exactly the same, despite how different the stories were. Loved it."—Karma Brown, author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife